‘Carginagh GAA vandalism an act of intolerance’ – Ritchie

SDLP South Down MP Margaret Ritchie has condemned those who cut down GAA uprights and daubed graffiti at a council playing field on Carginagh Road, outside Kilkeel.
Speaking to Newry Times, Ms Ritchie said: “The local council, in an act of great generosity and community spirit, erected the uprights on existing goals to allow young members of the local GAA clubs to practice their sport on a shared space. However, recent acts, starting with the tying of a union flag to the uprights, followed by the use of heavy cutting equipment to remove the uprights entirely, and the daubing of graffiti marking the remaining goal as ‘British’ is nothing more or less than an act of sectarian bigotry, designed to intimidate the young people who used the pitch for GAA practice, not to mention the wider Catholic and nationalist community.”
“As MP for South Down, I strive to create a unified community, where people of all traditions can coexist and enjoy their separate and shared cultures in an atmosphere of tolerance. Those behind the attacks on the Carginagh pitch do not share that view, obviously, but they fly in the face of the overwhelming majority of people.”
She added, “I urge anyone with any information to contact the police as a matter of urgency.”

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